Crystalline germanium is a very useful material for a variety of purposes. For example, crystalline germanium wafers are extremely useful in the manufacture of a variety of semiconductor devices. Among a number of well known properties, crystalline germanium is substantially lattice matched to many materials employed in the semiconductor industry, e.g., gallium arsenide. Germanium wafers offer many significant benefits when used as substrates in manufacturing solar-electric cells.
However, germanium is a relatively scarce element. As a result, the current relatively high cost of germanium has had the effect of limiting the cost-effectiveness of using germanium, and has thereby had the effect of preventing its use in a wide variety of technical scenarios where its use would otherwise be embraced.